# Fortress Besieged

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/qian-zhongshu/fortress-besieged/9780141187860

![Fortress Besieged](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin-classics/qian-zhongshu/fortress-besieged_978-01-4118-786-0.jpg?v=2026-04-23%2012%3A25%3A36)

- Book: [Fortress Besieged](https://www.bookquiver.com/qian-zhongshu/fortress-besieged) ([Fortress Besieged.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/qian-zhongshu/fortress-besieged.md))
- Authors: [Zhongshu Qian](https://www.bookquiver.com/qian-zhongshu)
- Publisher: penguin_classics
- ISBN: 978-01-4118-786-0
- Pages: 448
- Published: 2006-04-27
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: Softcover

## Description

Set on the eve of the Sino-Japanese war, Fortress Besieged recounts the exuberant misadventures of the hapless hero Fang Hung-chien, who after aimlessly studying in Europe at his family's expense returns to Shanghai armed with a bogus degree from a fake university. On the liner back, Fang's life becomes deeply entangled with those of two Chinese beauties - while when he does finally make it home, he obtains a teaching post at a newly established university, encounters effete pseudo-intellectuals, and falls into a marriage of disastrous proportions. A glorious tale of love, marriage, war, calamity, disillusionment and hope, this is one of the greatest Chinese novels: combining Eastern philosophy, Western traditions, adventure, tragicomedy and satire to create a unique feast of delights.